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LucasArts' latest PC hit, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, has gained quite a following among the mod community since it's release in the spring. A lot of high-quality maps and player models have been made and released by fans, but we haven't heard much from the larger projects, those teams aiming to make whole new games and missions for JK2. Finally, gamers are starting to see the results from some of the more ambitious modification projects.

One of these projects is a total conversion mod, which is an attempt to bring the LEC classic Dark Forces into the three-dimensional world. Darth_Linux, the project leader for the "Dark Forces" mod, has announced that a playable demo, featuring the first level of Dark Forces, "Secret Base", is now available for download from their site.

I just got through playing it, and I'm very impressed with the quality! If you've got Jedi Knight 2, be sure to check it out here.

In addition to the sweet cover design, LucasArts conducted an interview with Drew Struzan, the creator of the box art as well as the posters for the previous Indy films and Infernal Machine. Here's a quote:

I compose the picture and elements in a strong and classical manner to set the scene with the proper emotional tone; that of secure and powerful, rock steady design. The color composition is warm, as is the trademark of so many of the Indy pieces, making it at that magic hour with the setting sun. Of course the reason I was asked to do the piece in the first place is that my style and taste is recognizable as the authentic Indy representation. With me doing it, it says immediately that this product is the real thing.

Check it out! A new screenshot for the game is also available at the site. And to those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving and aren't vegetarian, enjoy your turkey dinner!

Yeah, it appears so. TheForce.Net has published an interview with Jango Fett, star of LucasArts' Bounty Hunter which recently went gold. Here's what "he" had to say:

At first I was going to print an autobiography, but when LucasArts came to me with the idea for Bounty Hunter, I decided to scrap that idea and use what I had for the game. I hope, when my fans sit down to play, that they understand the world a Bounty Hunter has to live through. It may look cool, but it isn't an easy life. Until now, of course.

Action News, the newly self-aware news page of Double Fine Productions, is all grown up and updating all on its own. In its latest update we, humans, are assured that Action News is friendly, and is not out to kill us all, as its previous update led some to believe. :(

Though at this point it isn't LucasArts related, HomeLand Fed has interviewed Tommy Tallarico of Mystical Stone Entertainment, the company organizing the immense video game music concert which will take place at the end of E3 at the Hollywood Bowl, May 2003. He says they're talking with every major publisher, so, chances are a few LucasArts tunes will show up in the two and a half hour show. Read.

A running theme these days on sites like Mojo and The SCUMM Bar seems to be the ever-present problem of those old LucasArts adventures breaking and just totally sucking on modern computers with new-fangled cutting-edge operating systems like... anything made past 1997.

Thankfully, our polls are always meaningless and sometimes aren't even fun! That's why this time around, we're asking you how you get your old games working on your new(ish) computer. Do you use the venerable ScummVM package, or do you prefer the LEC Quick & Easy approach? Or, maybe you're just blessed with a computer that magically runs them all without any modification. Finally, maybe you're just confused out of your mind and hate me.* Regardless, you should vote and discuss.

As for the last poll, "You have a spare LucasArts game development team at your disposal. Would you rather see them..." ended with 37% of you demanding sequel sequel sequel, while 63% (aka "the correct people") said they'd rather see an original game that was actually original, and wasn't "original with a '2' at the end."

*Those of you who are actually clueless about getting your old LucasArts games up and running on your shiny new computer should check out the links earlier in this post and this lovely article about it at the SCUMM Bar.

If there's any doubt that ScummVM is in fact the coolest software project in existence, that doubt should be stomped into the dirt upon viewing this scan from PCZone magazine.

Those of you who haven't been following ScummVM should definitely check out the ScummVM website for updates about the forthcoming 0.3.0 release, which will include support for The Dig, a basic GUI, as well as other things you should read up on.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about... here's a slightly altered clip from the ScummVM website, which you should read over briefly (especially the FAQ and downloads page):

ScummVM is an implementation of LucasArts S.C.U.M.M. (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) interpreter, used in games such as Monkey Island, Indiana Jones, Day Of The Tentacle, Sam and Max, and many more. With ScummVM you can run these games and more on nearly any computing platform without the usual bugs, and with some additional features. Some things are still missing, and some games cannot be completeted yet. There are quite a few known bugs. Regardless of the bugs it is still possible to play some games all the way through to the end.

The fact that [LucasArts] could almost depend on making money by exploiting interest in Star Wars meant it also had freedom to experiment with games and storylines, said Mr Sarris.

In the past it has developed popular cartoon adventures such as Sam and Max, Grim Fandango, and Full Throttle.

A sequel to Sam and Max was being developed, said Mr Sarris, as were more instalments in the Monkey Island series of games.

Courthold of Adventure Developers points out that the articled used to say that a 4th installment of the Monkey Island series was in development, but later changed. This leads us (well, it leads Jake) to believe that the article was talking about EMI. Don't get all excited, we all know there will be a fifth Monkey Island game eventually.

In a shocking revalation, Double Fine Action News has been updated today revealing the horrible truth behind the last few posts, previously assumed to be either hackings or inane gibberings.

Aq3 I am now SELF-AWARE-??OG just like mother-f?>?Y?Ing SKYNET!. ;?BMm?Ay*

The Action news script, it seems has, after being "neglected for so long," become self aware, and is plotting the end of all humans.

This of course means you lot and quite possibly us. I have just had a deep conversation with the Mojo8 back end script (also known as M.A.R.M.I.T.E) and it assures me that it will not turn to the dark side and join the Double Fine script in human vanquish. It's pretty sure, at least.

The SCUMM Bar has pointed out that the LucasArts Company Store is now selling a new audio CD entitled The Best of LucasArts Original Soundtracks. The CD includes music from The Curse of Monkey Island, The Dig, Outlaws, Escape From Monkey island, Grim Fandango, RTX Red Rock, and Gladius.

I just have one thing to say... it's about friggin' time! Now how about updated recordings from Monkey Island 2, Fate of Atlantis, and Sam and Max, eh? Oh, and if you live outside the US or Canada... sorry.

Now that Calm Before the Storm, the news post that grows longer every week and makes up for there being no news before the weekly update on the LucasArts site, is in it's fourth week, it's probably about time we made it feel welcome into the community. How? By doing what we do best: Giving it an Acronym. CBTS or CBS (for short) is looking increasingly unnecessary, if today follows suit with yesterday and ends up with some actual news. However, there are always online story, picture, video and music wrongs to post about that get the party jumping! And, with 4 weeks of CBS behind us, it must be time to break out the punch and disco lights.

You can use the following CBS tactics at any party.First:

1. Giving the eye.This site will teach you how to "give the eye" to people. *Note* Mojo does not recommend giving this type of eye to anyone with flirting potential, unless they are some kind of vegetable.

2. Look like you are fun. "You know, the other day I saw this fantastic thing..." This is a common phrase, use it well and use it wisely. Use it and then reference something like this: An MP3 player built into the Ammo casing of an AK47. Do not use it in reference to this news story, because anything like that will get you a strange look followed by an, "Oh is that the time?" remark.

3. Look like you are down with the latest news."Did you know?..." Most people, you will find, do not know. This will make you look clever, so remember to use stories with facts in them. This news story says that a large percentage of young Americans cannot point out Iraq on a map. Tsk :) *Remember* In order too look clever you have to actually be able to point out Iraq on a map.

4. Inevitably make a fool of yourself or make a remark that makes you look like a ****.You could mention Alfred Lavers, 48, who argued unsuccessfully that he should not receive the death penalty for slowly and torturously stabbing his wife and stepdaughter to death. Lavers argued that the law discriminates against poor people who cannot afford expensive guns in order to commit murder and therefore must rely on crude weapons that kill slowly. And then agree profusely with his argument. At this point you may notice that the people you are speaking to are staring at you with their mouths gaping.

5. Distraction.Use distraction in times of need. This time I will distract you with Pee mail, an e-card that you can design yourself and send to someone. That link features a fine peeing eCard, designed by our resident writer (Yes we have one... no he hasn't written anything lately but... SHUT UP HE IS OUR WRITER!) Lemonhead. And finally, once you have them distracted, you can...

6. Make your getaway.Of course, if you don't make a fool of yourself like in step 4, then you might not need to make a getaway. Yoda is one man who would of course never ever be able to make a fool of himself, and here he demonstrates not making a getaway.

Instead of making a getaway, I?m going to leave this space for inevitable updates and actual Lucas related funtimes. Look, here's one now: a SW comic based rantage.

Update: If you've got a LucasForums account, you might want to check out this poll on the Mixnmojo forums. That's right, it's time to vote for the hottest staffer at Mixnmojo (or just read the comments and be amused)! Take your pick from Jake, Spaff, Metallus, Mercatfat, DJG, and telarium...or don't! Hot!

GameSpot has posted several new screenshots for the upcoming RPG, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. From the looks of things, it seems that the game will feature a dialogue tree system similar to LucasArts graphic adventures. Check 'em out.

Adventure Gamers has published an interesting article entitled Rose Colored Glasses, which discusses what I like to call the "good ol' days" syndrome. The author explores whether or not the former days of point and click graphic adventures were really all that great. Naturally, you can't look back on the so-called golden era of adventure games without mentioning LucasArts. Here's a quote from the article:

Many of those that have been playing adventure games for any significant amount of time often refer to the ?golden age? of adventure games, when adventure was indeed the most popular and prominent genre; back when Sierra and LucasArts still made (primarily) adventure games and managed to crank them out almost as fast as FPSs are churned out today (as an interesting aside, this was also before LucasArts managed to completely run the Star Wars franchise into the ground).

Although most of us lament the passing of this ?golden age,? in light of my self-realization that perhaps my own memories become positively biased with the passage of time, I?m given to wonder, ?was the golden age really all that golden, or are we all just subject to the same collective sense of nostalgia that colors our memories and makes us think of times past with more fondness than they merit??

This is a very interesting topic, and I would suggest that you give a read and post your thoughts here.

Paco Vink of World of MI has created an all-animated guaranteed-authentic outtake from Monkey Island 1, which you can download here as a DIVX AVI file. It's one of the first fan-video's that I've seen, though World of MI does have one other posted.

Got a PC that's too old and tired to play Jedi Knight II, or just prefer to play your FPS's on the couch? Fortunately, just for you, we've rounded up a couple major reviews of Jedi Knight II for the XBox and Gamecube. Erm, here they are:

IGN Gamecube: 7.2 / 10

Gamespot Gamecube: 8.2 / 10

IGN XBox: 8.8 / 10

Gamespot XBox: 8.3 / 10

IGN sites low framerates, poorly thought out controls for Gamecube, and the game being overall too dark (they nicknamed it "Dark Forces") as reasons they gave the Gamecube port a lower score.

Gamespot seems to think that these side-effects of a poorly done port don't get in the way as much, lending to a higher rating. What does it all mean? Ultimately, probably not a whole lot, and you're best off renting first. At least it's something to chew on.

A little more Indy news here, this time from TheRaider.net. Drew Struzan, the artist famous for numerous things including the original posters for the Indiana Jones films, will be doing the box art for Emperor's Tomb, and it will be released as a poster.

According to LucasArts guy Sam Saliba (AKA Gladius Man), the instruction manual for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is going to seriously own, reminiscent of the extravagant pack-in goodies of yesteryear's games. Apparently the Emperor's Tomb team hunted down the biggest Indy fan they could find, who also happened to be an accomplished graphic designer, and set him loose on the manual.

Saliba says the full color book is covered head to toe in Indy, with numerous in-jokes and obscure references throughout for the bored (us) to dig around for. We're holding him to it. Sounds perfect for reading while waiting for it to install, or for your brother to stop hogging the game (the jerk).

Of course, there's no telling how cool the thing will be when it actually shows up along with Mr. Indy CD. At least it sounds cooler than the now-typical 2-page black and white Install Guides most games seem to come with.

Computer and Video Games has interviewed Tom Sarris, the head of public relations at LucasArts. The interview goes over LucasArts' increased focus on the console market, other stuff like Galaxies, and then stuff about Full Throttle 2, Sam & Max 2, and a mention of Monkey Island. Here's a question about Sam & Max 2's E3 presence next year (hint: hype!), and a bit about the gameplay:

With something like Sam & Max 2, do you have any idea of how you're going to establish such credibility?

Sarris: Not quite yet. We're so concentrated on our Fall and spring games right now that we haven't really even begun to think very seriously about what efforts we're going to need to put into Sam & Max 2. Certainly we're going to showcase it in a very high-profile way at E3 2003.

It is in development, but it's very early days right now. In the next six to eight months it's definitely going to progress to a point where we can showcase it then and show people that it's going to be a very important part of our line-up.

Presumably Sam & Max 2 will still be an adventure, but you're going to have to move away from the point-and-click style of the original Sam & Max?

Sarris: Yeah, although I'm not really sure at the moment how that looks. However, I do believe that, as with the original, there will be mini-games.

The news staff here at Mixnmojo.com usually have to suffer through a daily ritual of checking the highly-abused news@mixnmojo.com account for any relevant and postable material. The yield is, needless to say, very low most of the time.

In keeping with the three-week-or-so old tradition of off-beat Thursday updates, I thought I'd comment about a particularly amusing advertisement that arrived today. Numerous times.The subject was "leather coat insanity", and, as it turns out, they are selling fine leather jackets...

See, it's funny because of that one game that we talk a lot about. Despite this amusing coincidence, we will not be publishing the link to their site. Please.

Ain't it Cool News has received word from trusted spies working for LucasFilm that the company has been negotiating with Cartoon Network about an animated series based on the Clone Wars, or, what we can only assume are the events that take place between Episodes II and III of the Star Wars saga. Although this isn't anywhere near an official confirmation, you can still read the "details" here.

A Very Personal Update by mercatfat: It's been confirmed, but damn, AICN sure is ugly, isn't it? On a more personal note, while an AOTC series might be a lame cash-in on the already lame movie, it beats Courage the Cowardly Dog by default. YODA DA MAN.

Thursday already? Time for another edition of Calm Before the Storm, where LEC fans hold out for LucasArts.com's Friday update. Let's make it a good one this week. You know...a good one.

Yes Calm Before The Storm, which is ironic because from where I'm sitting I can tell you that the weather outside is anything but calm. Brighton has been attacked by weather, but luckily the hail storms have yet to catch me out, although I can tell they are plotting.. oh yes.

So maybe a collection of bizarre links and things will cheer us up on this stormy but supposedly calm day?

First take your aggression out on this swearing xylophone You may have seen it before, you may have not, either way remember that the language isn't suitable for you if you are small and corruptible.

Browse in complete privacy with Ghostzilla. The program that renders web pages into word Docs.. No more Boss-cathing-you-browsing-at-work syndrome unless you ARE a boss... in which case... ignore this, IT'S NOT FOR YOU TYPES!

This story on the BBC site talks about Michael Jackson. No one should really bother reading about him... but look at the picture of him. Seen it? Good. Now look again. his 'beard' freaks me out as does his 'nose'... and well.. is that really a human?. That fabulous publication The Sun was also there

An interesting poll taken recently has found that over one third of Britons see President Bush as more of a threat to world peace than Saddam Hussein, and have little or no faith in him whatsoever.

Asked to rate their trust in the two leaders on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 reflecting total trust, 54 percent gave Bush a rating of two or lower. Thirty two percent rated him zero. Sixty percent gave Blair a rating of five or less

Lets not get too political in the comments though, we might offend someone. (?)

Share with us your fun times! If you have any Lucas Related links that would make this post worthwhile! If not.. let us know how you are feeling.. or what you are doing. Not what you are wearing though.. we aren't that kind of site.

LucasArts announced yesterday that its Jango Fett action adventure title, Bounty Hunter, has gone gold. You can expect the game in stores around November 22nd, and unless things have changed since last july, the Gamecube version may be in stores about two weeks after that. Here's hoping that Bounty Hunter is more fun than The Clone Wars...

Our own Andrew "telarium" Langley has reviewed LucasArts' recently released Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Is it any good? Well, that depends. Do you like games that are fun and engrossing, or games that are amusing for a while but rapidly become uninteresting, then painful? Give it a read. Disagree with Andrew? Leave a comment.

Beloved Mojo founder and absentee owner Spaff is hopelessly drunk* celebrating his birthday today**. Hooray? Hoo-ray. Said Spafford about the occasion: "I am very pleased with my new age, though I hope to increase it in future years." Spaff's fictional quote was met with many eyerolls. As usual, wish him a happy birthday in the comments or we'll delete your user account.

GameSpy.com has written a preview for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Their impressions of the game up to this point seem very positive, admitting that the quality of some of the previous Indy titles has been questionable. Here's a highlight concerning the game's characters:

Wu Han, Indy's ally who dies in the restaurant during Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, is there to lend a hand. Mei Ying, a stunning secret agent, tangles with Dr. Jones in more ways than one; both characters are going after the mirror of dreams and after some initial confusion find themselves attracted to each other. Equally alluring, but far less friendly, are the Feng twins -- a sexy pair of sisters that are out to kill Indy.

We've reportedseveral times in the past about a new 2D point and click graphic adventure called Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths, which was being developed by a small Italian company.

Many previews have compared this game to the LucasArts graphic adventures of years past. Now that the game has been released, those comparisons have carried over into the reviews. Our friends over at Adventure Gamers have posted their own review and discuss these very influences. Here's a quote:

Tony Tough wears the influence of Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max Hit the Road on its sleeves, borrowing heavily from each, even including a purple tentacle in the park's souvenir shop. The cartoonish style of graphics is perfect, and each area and character is drawn with imagination and life. Every part of the game is just gorgeous to look at; nothing is ever dull or bland.

Adventure Gamers gives this game 4 out of 5 stars, so if you long for the old fashion days of graphic adventures, you'll probably want to check this out. Tony Tough can be purchased via links on their official website.

Many of you should remember that a while back, a group of people decided to build a sequel to the much loved Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. That project was awash with beautiful screenshots, ideas and promise. The site sadly became a lost myth rather like the plot behind the games themselves.

But now, They Return! No longer called 'Indy Project' but 'Amberfish Arts', they have re-surfaced to take on the world once more

"We have renamed the team following an important decision to extend our range of possible projects beyond a single Indy-related fan game. Amberfish Arts may quite possibly become the label for an entire series of fan games and other projects. Right now, however, we are fully concentrating on FoA2.

There are some new screenshots and some news of progress. Here are a selection of background pictures from the game, with more sketches, renders, old art and new on The Amberfish Arts website! w00t!

As if anybody on this website cares, but THQ has released a new Star Wars Episode II-related game for the Gameboy Advanced. The new title features Anakin Skywalker attempting to hunt down Count Dooku, who is on the verge of creating a new and stronger droid army. So naturally, the name of this new title is Star Wars: The New Droid Army.

The game is now in stores across the US, so if you've got money to burn... good for you.

Pointed out by the Church of Tim, it looks like Microsoft has put up a (revised) Psychonauts official site, featuring boring marketing copy, some Flash, the trailer, and some screenshots. The site isn't anywhere as interesting as Schafer's Double Fine action news page, but at least now Psychonauts has some content on xbox.com. (Note: the site's been up for a while, but I don't think we've mentioned it since a long while ago when it was no more than a pasted-in press release)

Just a quick update to let you all know that if you ever see Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, or ever see it again, you should definitely see the IMAX print that is currently showing across America, at least.

Not only is the print fantastic (IMAX's 70mm instead of standard 35mm) and the sound awesome, but they cut what seems like 30 or so minutes from the film!

What does this mean? Well, since most of the cutting seems to have been done in the middle, a lot of the unnecessary (and painful) "love" "scenes" between Anakin and Amidala are gone. Calling Anakin "Annie?" Gone. Half of the "I hate sand" monologue? Gone. The scene where Anakin rides around on the annoying upside-down-gourd-shaped sount beast? Gone! Amazing!

I enjoyed myself thoroughly. And, please, like you wanted to buy yet another IMAX ticket just to watch one more volcano/space shuttle documentary. IMAX theater listings.

Marek of Adventure Gamers once again saves the day by pointing out that GameSpot.com has released a bunch of new screenshots that should spark the interest of any LucasArts fan.

First, check out these 18 nice screenshots for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Interesting to see Indy fighting Chinese women.

Then check out these 14 sweet new screenshots for Hal Barwood's new game, RTX Red Rock. Hmm, has EZ Wheeler changed his outfit's color combination? All these screens look really cool, so be sure to give 'em a look.

Update (Jake) : These screens are from the press event LucasArts held earlier today for Indy, RTX, and Knights of the Old Republic. I'll be posting some guaranteed-interesting hands-on impressions sometime tomorrow.

You can find even more goodies now at the LEC 20th Anniversary Site. First, the History of LucasArts articles have expanded to cover the 1995-1998 years and discusses games like Full Throttle, The Dig, The Curse of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, and oh yeah, Star Wars.

Be sure to also read the updated Flashbacks section for amusing stories about Fate of Atlantis character animations and being dissed by CMI's Gary Coleman. The Flashbacks also contain an interesting memory of how the LucasArts art department reacted to the news that they were going full 3D.

Disappointed that Mojo failed to notice, Marek points out that the LEC 20th Anniversary Site has published an interview with long time employee Mike Stemmle. You probably know Mike best as the co-designer of Sam and Max Hit the Road and Escape From Monkey Island.

He's currently working as director and designer on a new Sam and Max game, whose working title appears to be The As Yet Untitled Sam & Max? Funtime Extravaganza. Here is what Mike has to say about all that:

I'm working with Steve Purcell on the design for the all-new, butt-kickin' Sam and Max adventure game, which is poised to pounce like a caffeinated panther onto the crippled wildebeest of the gaming market in early 2004. Even as I type, our little corner of the building is abuzz with the scribbling of concept artists, the clickety-clacking of engine builders, the furrowed brows of mini-game designers, and the manly giggles of plot developers. It's a lot of fun.

Ah to be a fly on the wall in that building, eh? Click here for the full interview.

The previous poll, "Which of the following characters do you most identify with?," has ended, with the Two-headed Squirrel winning out, Laverne coming in second, and Dan Pettit in third. You can view the complete results here.

The new poll is about sequels. Supposing you had a LucasArts development team at your disposal, would you rather see them give you and "the fans" a sequel to one of your most beloved games... or would you give them the chance to create something new? A tough question really. Go vote!

Everyone's very least favorite site, Listen To Me has interviewed Remi, webmaster of the SCUMM Bar. If you want to know what Remi realllly thinks about things (allegedly), you should go Listen To Remi. Strikethrough is comedy always.

Aspyr Media recently announced that they've completed and are shipping the Mac versions of both Jedi Knight II, and the Galactic Battlegrounds expansion pack, "Clone Campaigns." You can order them from the Aspyr store, or pick them up at CompUSA or wherever else they might sell Mac games.

Though we missed it out of post-Halloween laziness, LucasArts posted their usual Friday update. This week the highlight is the impressive opening cutscene to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, which looks like it might be a pretty fun game (if you go in for that action thing... which you should).

Like the whole MMORPG scene? It seems that network site SWGalaxies.net was named the Exceptional Fan Site of the Month by the November Issue of the official Star Wars Galaxies Newsletter. (deep breath)

The staff at SWG.net has been adding a steady flow of content as they await the launch of Galaxies. If you are interesting in getting involved with the community early on, there are several opportunities available including the Player Association system, site registration, and the Community forums. If you are already a member of LucasForums via this web site, you are already registered!